Ryan — The Anali/sii of Beestvax. 211 



position wax in cadulterated beeswax, it is simply necessary to find the 

 percentages of glycerides and hydrocarbons in the wax. 



If, however, the glycerides (tallow or Japan wax] be replaced by 

 spermaceti or carnauba wax, the solution of the problem becomes more 

 difficult. For example, a sample of wax containing 1015 per cent, of 

 stearic acid, 58'12 per cent, of spermaceti, and 31-73 per cent, of parafiin, 

 will have Acid, Ester, and Iodine Numbers equal to the corresponding 

 Niimbers for beeswax, and in addition will, like beeswax, be free from 

 glycerides. The percentage (31-73) of hydrocarbons in the " composition " 

 wax is, however, much higher than that (13) found in beeswax by 

 Buisine's method. 



In the presence of carnauba wax the difference in the percentages of 

 hydrocarbons in the genuine wax and in the composition wax may be made 

 very much less. Such a composition wax will, however, contain a smaller 

 percentage of " free " acids than that which is present in genuine beeswax. 

 In fact, while the Acid Number of the " free " acids in genuine beeswax is 

 about 141-5, that of the "free" acid in the composition wax is usually 

 about 197, so that, in addition to determining the Acid and Ester Number of 

 the wax, it will be necessary to find the percentage by weight of the "free" 

 acid contained in it, in order to be able to calculate the Acid Number of the 

 "free" acid and the relative amounts of cerotic and stearic acids present, 

 from which the percentage of beeswax (if any) in the mixture can be 

 determined. 



In a paper read before the Society of Public Analysts, in January, 1909, 

 Otto Hehner proposed a method for the determination of tlie percentage of 

 beeswax in complex wax mixtures, which is based on the assumption that 

 the molecular weight of cerotic acid is higher than that of any other " free " 

 acid that may occur in composition waxes intended for the manufacture 

 of candles. 



Simultaneously with, and independently of, Hehner, the principle 

 mentioned above, which is theoretically identical with that adopted by 

 the latter chemist, was used by me for the analj^sis of beeswax candles. 

 The method proposed by Hehner is, however, somewhat different in detail 

 from that adopted here. 



Hehner determines the Acid Number of the wax, dissolves the soap 

 formed in the requisite quantity of warm water, removes the cake of " ester " 

 which separates on cooling, and extracts the last traces of " ester" from the 

 soap solution by means of warm etlier. Tlie insoluble acids are then set 

 free from the soap, washed, and dried. The mean molecular weight of the 

 insoluble acids is determined by titration with alcoholic alkali ; and from 



2 M 2 



